Truman Doctrine Dbq

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Document 26.3 titled, "The Truman Doctrine" was published in Washington D.C. by the Government Printing Office in 1963 (Document 26.3, pg. 574). In this document, President Truman appeals to congress (the audience) for Greece and Turkey to prevent the spread of communism in the two nations. The post World War II doctrine, announced on March 12th, 1947 was an American foreign policy used to prevent the spread of Soviet Imperialism that would soon become one of the foundations of the U.S containment policies (Twentieth Century World, pg. 242). This action can be viewed as a possible declaration of the Cold War and can be seen in the sentence, ”The controversial Truman Doctrine, as it came to be called, committed the United States to an active …show more content…

However, because of this I believe there is definitely some bias, whether it is good, or bad, in this document. Truman states, “I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes” (Document 26.3, pg. 574). In this particular section, it is Truman’s own thoughts and beliefs that are addressed. There are no other ways of life other than the two that he suggests (those stating that the will of life is based on the will of the majority, or the will of life is based on the will of the minority) [Document 26.3, pg. 574]. Recognizing this bias tells us that the period in which this Doctrine was created was a time to “ensure the peaceful development of nations” and to, “make possible lasting freedom and independence for all its members” (Document 26.3, pg. 574). Truman was prompted to choose this course of action under threats from other authoritarian forces. It was a way to reestablish U.S. foreign policy and to provide political and economic help from the threats on the Democratic nations. The speech came after WW2 suggesting that many nations in Europe were open to attack, and